Disposable pull-on wearing article

ABSTRACT

A disposable pull-on wearing article includes front and rear waist regions, a crotch region extending between the waist regions, a chassis and an absorbent panel. The article has first and second tuckable side zones folded along first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines and tucked the article.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to disposable pull-on wearing articles forabsorption and containment of bodily discharges.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional disposable pull-on wearing articles such as diapers andtraining pants have front and rear waist regions opposed to each otherand a crotch region extending between the waist regions and generallycomprise a liquid-pervious inner sheet, a liquid-impervious outer sheetand a liquid-absorbent panel/core disposed between these two sheetsextending across the crotch region into the front and rear waist regionsto define a waist-hole and a pair of leg-holes.

In such conventional articles, transversely opposite side edges of thecrotch region delineate circular arcs which are convex inwardly in atransverse direction of the article so that a transverse dimension ofthe crotch region is smaller than that of the front and rear waistregions and the article has a generally hourglass-shape as viewed in itsunfolded state with the front and rear waist regions disjoined from eachother. In this article, portions of the inner and outer sheets extendingoutwardly beyond the side edges of the panel/core in the transversedirection form a pair of side flaps to define leg-holes. Such wearingarticle is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Nos.1999-104177A and 1999-155904A.

If the transverse dimension of the crotch region in such wearing articleof prior art is larger than that of the wearer's crotch area between itsthighs, the crotch region will not be properly placed against thewearer's crotch area and particularly the panel/core whichconventionally has stiffness higher than that of the inner and outersheets and a given thickness will inevitably become bulky and may createa feeling of discomfort against the wearer when is worn. To place thecrotch region of the article properly in close contact with the wearer'scrotch area, it may be contemplated that the crotch region isdimensioned to be equal to or smaller than the wearer's crotch area.However, the transverse dimension of the panel/core would be reduced inthe crotch region as the transverse dimension of the crotch region isreduced, so the function to absorb bodily discharges in the crotchregion would be unacceptably reduced, increasing an anxiety that leakageof bodily discharges might occur in the crotch region.

In average, the transverse dimension of the wearer's crotch area is in arange of 30–80 mm. In most of the wearing articles currently availablein the market, the minimum transverse dimension of the core in thecrotch region is dimensioned to be in a range of 100–200 mm and thetransverse dimension of the crotch region inclusive of the side flaps isdimensioned to be in a range of 150–300 mm. In this manner, thetransverse dimension of the crotch region is larger than the transversedimension of the wearer's crotch area.

It is an object of this invention to provide a pants-type disposablewearing article improved so that its crotch region can be properlyplaced in close contact with a wearer's crotch area without any feelingof discomfort against the wearer and leakage of bodily discharges in thecrotch region.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A disposable pull-on wearing article comprises:

a flexible chassis including a body facing side, a garment facing sideopposed to the body facing side, a front waist region, a rear waistregion opposed to the front waist region, a crotch region between thefront and rear waist region, a waist hole and a pair of leg-holes;

a semi-stiff, liquid-absorbent panel having first and second side edgesopposed to each other, and first and second end edges opposed to eachother;

first and second tuckable side zones each having one of a generallytrapezoid and a generally triangle defined by a pair of oblique side anda base in both sides of the crotch region, with apexes of the first andsecond tuckable side zones opposed to each other, and with the bases ofthe first and second tuckable side zones located along the first andsecond side edges of the absorbent panel, respectively; and

the first and second tuckable side zones being folded along the obliquesides thereof and tucked from the leg-holes into the article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a disposable pull-onwearing article according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the article of FIG. 1 before thefirst and second tuckable side zones are tucked from left and rightleg-holes into the article;.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the article in FIG. 2with a waist member disconnected from each other as partially cutaway;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line A—A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one preferred embodiment of thearticle according to this invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the article of FIG. 6 before thefirst and second tuckable side zones are tucked from the left and rightleg-holes into the article;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the article of FIG. 6with the front and rear waist regions disconnected from each other aspartially cutaway;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another preferred embodiment of thearticle according to this invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the article of FIG. 9 before thefirst and second tuckable side zones are tucked from the left and rightleg-holes into the article;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the article of FIG. 10with the front and rear waist regions disconnected from each other aspartially cutaway;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along a line C—C in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line D—D in FIG. 9.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Details of a disposable pull-on wearing article according to thisinvention will be more fully understood from the description givenhereunder in reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable pull-on wearing article 1Aas an embodiment of this invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showingthe article 1A before first and second tuckable side regions 19, 20 aretucked from a pair of leg-holes into the article 1A and FIG. 3 is anexploded perspective view showing the article 1A in FIG. 2 with a waistmember 1 a disjoined from its side edges as partially cutaway. In FIGS.1 and 2, a waist surrounding direction is indicated by an arrow X1, atransverse direction is indicated by an arrow X2, a longitudinaldirection is indicated by an arrow Y and a thigh surrounding directionis indicated by an arrow Z. FIG. 3 shows a state before darts are formedin the first tuckable region 19.

The article 1A comprises a flexible chassis 1 and a semi-stiff,liquid-absorbent panel 4. The chassis 1 includes a waist member 1 a anda crotch member 1 b. The crotch member 1 b includes a liquid-perviousinner sheet 2 defining a body facing side and a liquid-impervious outersheet 3 defining a garment facing side. The absorbent panel 4 isinterposed between the inner and outer sheets 2, 3 and joined to theinner surface of at least one of these two sheets 2, 3. The waist member1 a is composed of a front portion 7 a and a rear portion 7 b.

The article 1A is composed of front and rear waist regions 32, 34opposed to each other and a crotch region 33 extending between thesewaist regions 32, 34. The article 1A further has a pair of side flaps 5formed by portions of the chassis 1 lying outside transversely oppositeside edges 4 a of the absorbent panel 4 so as to extend in thethigh-surrounding direction, respectively, and a pair of end flaps 6formed by portions of the chassis 1 lying outside longitudinallyopposite front and rear ends 4 b, 4 c of the absorbent panel 4 so as toextend in the waist-surrounding direction in the front and rear waistregions 32, 34, respectively.

The waist member 1 a is formed of breathable sheets and extend in thewaist-surrounding direction so as to surround upper portions of thecrotch member 1 b which is curved in a U-shape. The waist member 1 a hasits middle zones, as viewed in the waist-surrounding direction, joinedto the outer surface of the outer sheet 3 in the front and rear waistregions 32, 34, respectively. Transversely opposite side edge zones 7 cof the waist member 1 a extending in the longitudinal direction arejoined together by means of a plurality of heat-sealing lines 9 arrangedintermittently in the longitudinal direction. By such joining, awaist-hole 10 and a pair of leg-holes 11 a, 11 b are formed. The article1A is dimensioned so that each of the front and rear portion 7 a, 7 b ofthe waist member 1 a has a width larger than a width of the crotchmember 1 b before provided with the waist member 1 a, the article 1A hasgenerally hourglass-shape as viewed in its plan view.

The absorbent panel 4 extends across the crotch region 33 into the frontand rear waist regions 32, 34. The absorbent panel 4 comprises a mixtureof fluff pulp and super-absorbent polymer particles or a mixture offluff pulp, super-absorbent polymer particles and thermoplasticsynthetic resin fibers compressed to a desired thickness. Accordingly,the absorbent panel 4 has stiffness higher than that of the chassis 1including the inner and outer sheets 2, 3. It is preferred that theabsorbent panel 4 is entirely wrapped with a liquid-pervious sheet suchas a tissue paper or hydrophilic fibrous nonwoven fabric in order toprevent the absorbent panel 4 from being deformed from its initial shapeand/or the polymer particles from falling off from the absorbent panel4. The polymer particles may be selected from a group of materialsincluding starch- or cellulose-based polymer particles or syntheticpolymer particles.

The side flaps 5 in the crotch region 33 are respectively provided withelastic members 12 each comprising a plurality of elastic strandsextending in the thigh-surrounding direction and secured to the innersurface of the inner sheet 2 in a stretched state so that the elasticmembers 12 are associated with the respective leg-holes. The side flaps5 in the crotch region 33 are tucked inwardly along the side edges 4 aof the absorbent panel 4 into the article 1A. Portions of the side flaps5 respectively lying in the front and rear waist regions 32, 34 arecollapsed inwardly in the transverse direction of the article 1A andjoined to the respective end flaps 6 in such a collapsed state.

Though not illustrated, it is also possible to form the side flaps 5 bya sheet provided separately of the inner and outer sheets 2, 3 and toattach the sheet to the portion of the outer sheet 3 extending outwardlybeyond the side edges 4 a of the absorbent panel 4. In this case, theseparate sheet forming the side flaps 5 may be selected from a group ofmaterials including a substantially liquid-impervious and a hydrophobicfibrous nonwoven fabric and a composite sheet in the form of a laminateof hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric and liquid-impervious plasticfilm.

Each of the waist member 1 a of the chassis 1 is formed of a compositenonwoven fabric composed of two layers 13, 14 of stretchable andhydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric. The waist member 1 a is providedalong respective ends thereof with elastic members 15 each comprising aplurality of elastic strands extending in the waist-surroundingdirection and secured thereto in a stretched state so as to beassociated with the waist-hole. The elastic members 15 associated withthe waist-hole are interposed between the layers 13, 14 of nonwovenfabric and secured to the layers 13, 14 of nonwoven fabric.

The crotch region 33 has a transversely middle zone 33 a andtransversely opposite side zones 33 b. As indicated by single-dot-chainlines in FIGS. 2 and 3, the crotch region 33 is formed with a firstimaginary tuckable guide line 16 and a second imaginary tuckable guideline 17 intersecting each other in the transversely middle zone 33 a.The crotch region 33 is formed in its transversely middle zone 33 a witha tuckable guide middle zone 18 which is a low stiffness middle zone.The low stiffness middle zone 18 is defined by partially removing theabsorbent panel 4. The low stiffness middle zone 18 has stiffness lowerthan that in the remaining zone of the article 1A in which the absorbentpanel 4 is interposed.

The first imaginary tuckable guide line 16 extends from a peripheraledge 11 a 1 of the left leg-hole 11 a lying in the front waist region 32toward a peripheral edge 11 b 2 of the right leg-hole 11 b lying in therear waist region 34. The second imaginary tuckable guide line 17extends from a peripheral edge 11 b 1 of the right leg-hole 11 b lyingin the front waist region 32 toward a peripheral edge 11 a 2 of theleft-hole 11 a lying in the rear waist region 34.

The crotch region 33 is divided into first tuckable side zone 19 havinga generally trapezoid defined by the peripheral edge of the leftleg-hole 11 a and first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16,17, second tuckable side zone 20 having a generally trapezoid defined bythe peripheral edge of the right leg-hole 11 b and the first and secondimaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17, a front zone 21 defined betweenthe first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 and a part ofthe front waist region 32 and a rear zone 22 defined between the firstand second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 and a part of the rearwaist region 34.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are formed with a pairof darts 23 extending in the thigh-surrounding direction in a curvedstate. Referring to FIG. 3, an area 24 to form the dart 23 is providedin the first tuckable side zone 19. The area 24 is defined between ajoining line 25 delineating a circular arc which is convex inwardly inthe transverse direction of the article 1A and a joining line 26delineating a circular arc which is convex outwardly in the transversedirection of the article 1A so as to have a spindle-shape. Each of thedarts 23 can be formed by drawing the joining lines 25, 26 near to eachother in the direction indicated by an arrow V and by joining the lines25, 26 inclusive of the vicinity thereof to each other. Having formedwith the darts 23, the areas 24 in the first and second tuckable sidezones 19, 20 extend downwardly in the longitudinal direction of thearticle 1A.

Inside the transversely opposite side edges 4 a of the absorbent panel4, a pair of tuckable guide front zones 27 and a pair of tuckable guiderear zones 28 are formed. The tuckable guide front zones 27 are definedbetween the transversely middle zone 33 a of the crotch region 33 andthe front end 4 b of the absorbent panel 4 lying in the front waistregion 32 and extend from tuckable guide middle zone 18 toward the frontend 4 b of the absorbent panel 4 in the thigh-surrounding direction. Thetuckable guide rear zones 28 are defined between the transversely middlezone 33 a of the crotch region 33 and the rear end 4 c of the absorbentpanel 4 lying in the rear waist region 34 and extend from the tuckableguide middle zone 18 toward the rear end 4 c of the absorbent panel 4 inthe thigh-surrounding direction. The tuckable guide front and rear zones27, 28 are respectively low stiffness zones which are defined bypartially removing absorbent panel 4. The low stiffness zones 27, 28have stiffness lower than that in the remaining zone of the article 1Ain which the absorbent panel 4 is interposed.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are folded along thefirst and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 so that the firstand second tuckable side zones 19, 20 may be interposed between thefront and rear zones 21, 22 and thereby the first and second tuckableside zones 19, 20 are tucked together with the darts 23 inwardly in thetransverse direction of the article 1A from the left and right leg-holes11 a, 11 b into the article 1A.

To assemble the article 1A in FIG. 1 from a state as illustrated in FIG.3 by an exploded perspective view, the article 1A is folded along acenter line L indicated by two-dotted chain line with the inner sheet 2inside and then the front and rear portions 7 a, 7 b of the waist member1 a are connected to each other by joining them along the respectiveside edge portions 7 c. Then the first and second tuckable side zones19, 20 are folded along the first and second imaginary tuckable guidelines 16, 17 and the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 aretucked from the left and right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1Aas indicated by an arrow W in FIG. 2.

The first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 preferablyinclude therebetween an angle θ in a range of 60–90°, as illustrated inFIG. 3. If the angle θ is smaller than 60°, the first and secondtuckable side zones 19, 20 tucked from the left and right leg-holes 11a, 11 b into the article 1A will not be conformed to the wearer's crotcharea between its thighs and it will be difficult to place the crotchregion 33 properly against the wearer's crotch area. If the angle θexceeds 90°, on the other hand, the first and second imaginary tuckableguide lines 16, 17 will extend to the respective side edge potions 7 cof the waist member 1 a and, in consequence, it is likely that the sideedge portions 7 c will be tucked inwardly in the transverse direction ofthe article 1A.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line A—A in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5is a cross-sectional view taken along a line B—B in FIG. 1. The article1A is formed in the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 with thedarts 23 and the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are foldedalong the first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 andtucked from the left and right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1A.Thus, the transverse dimension of the crotch region 33 can be reducedcompared to that before the darts 23 are formed and the first and secondtuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked. The crotch region 33 is properlyplaced against the wearer's crotch area so that the wearer experiencesno feeling of discomfort when the article 1A is put on the wearer'sbody.

As mentioned above, since the article 1A defines the low stiffnessmiddle zone 18 in the transversely middle of the crotch region 33 so thetransversely middle zone 33 a has stiffness lower than the remainingzone in the article 1A in which the absorbent panel 4 is interposed, itis possible for the article 1A to alleviate a feeling of discomfortpossibly experienced by the wearer when this transversely middle zone 33a is placed against the wearer's crotch area.

Upon wearing the article 1A, portions of the article 1A including partsof the absorbent panel 4 in the vicinity of its side edges 4 a aretucked in the tuckable guide front and rear zones 27, 28 as the frontand rear waist regions 32, 34 are deformed along the wearer's torso agenerally annular shape. Consequently, the absorbent panel 4 also isdeformed substantially in an annular shape. In this way, the article 1Afacilitates the absorbent panel 4 to be conformed to the shape of theindividual wearer's torso and enables a zone in which the absorbentpanel 4 is interposed, to be placed in close contact with the wearer'sskin through the inner sheet 2.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 rise as they are tuckedinto the article 1A as illustrated in FIG. 4. The first and secondtuckable side zones 19, 20 form barriers against bodily discharges andthereby to prevent bodily discharges from leaking out of the crotchregion 33. Decrease in the transverse dimension of the crotch region 33does not reduce the function of absorbing bodily discharges in thecrotch region 33 because portions of the absorbent panel 4 lying in thefirst and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 absorb and contain bodilydischarges.

The outer sheet 3 has its outer surface placed upon each other in thefirst and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 as the tuckable side zones19, 20 are tucked as illustrated in FIG. 5. The outer surface of theouter sheet 3 placed upon itself in this manner may be optionally joinedto itself so as to be maintained in this state. Furthermore, to maintainthe first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 in a tucked state, it isalso possible to place the outer surface of the inner sheet 2 extendingin the first tuckable side zone 19, the front and rear zones 21, 22 uponitself, on one hand, and to place the outer surface of the inner sheet 2extending in the second tuckable side zone 20, the front and rear zones21, 22 upon itself, on the other hand. The outer surface of the innersheet 2 placed upon itself in the zones 19, 20, 21, 22 may be optionallyjoined to itself.

Though not illustrated, the article 1A may be formed with the lowstiffness middle zone 18 not only in the transversely middle zone 33 abut also in transversely opposite side zones 33 b. In this case, thefirst and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 can be more smoothly tuckedfrom the left and right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1A.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one preferred embodiment of anarticle 1B according to the invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective viewshowing the article 1B as before the first and second tuckable sidezones 19, 20 are tucked from the left and right leg-holes 11 a, 11 binto the article 1B and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showingthe article 1B of FIG. 6 with the front and rear waist regions 32, 34disjoined from each other and partially broken away. In FIGS. 6 and 7,the waist-surrounding direction is indicated by an arrow X1, thetransverse direction is indicated by an arrow X2, the longitudinaldirection is indicated by an arrow Y and the thigh-surrounding directionis indicated by an arrow Z. FIG. 8 illustrates the article 1B before thefirst tuckable side zone 19 is formed with the darts 23.

This article 1B is similar to the article 1A of FIG. 1 in that thearticle 1B comprises a flexible chassis 1 including the liquid-perviousinner sheet 2 defining a body facing side, the liquid-impervious outersheet 3 defining a garment facing side and the semi-stiff,liquid-absorbent panel 4 interposed between these sheets 2, 3. Thecrotch region 33 is formed with first and second imaginary tuckableguide lines 16, 17 as indicated by single-dotted chain lines. Thearticle 1B is distinguished from the article 1A in an arrangement aswill be described.

While the article 1B also has a transversely narrower dimension in thecrotch region 33 than in the front and rear waist regions 32, 34 and hasa generally hourglass-like shape as viewed in its plan view, the article1B is not provided with the waist member 1 a in the article 1A as willbe apparent from FIG. 7.

The side flaps 5 in the crotch region 33 are respectively provided withthe elastic members 12 each comprising a plurality of elastic strandsextending in the thigh-surrounding direction and secured thereto in astretched state so as to be associated with the leg-holes. The end flaps6 are respectively provided with the elastic member 15 each comprising aplurality of elastic strands extending in the waist-surroundingdirection and secured thereto in a stretched state so as to beassociated with the waist-hole. The elastic members 12 associated withthe leg-holes and elastic members 15 associated with the waist-hole aredisposed between the inner and outer sheets 2, 3 and secured to therespective inner surfaces of the sheets 2, 3.

The side flaps 5 extending in the front and rear waist regions 32, 34 inthe longitudinal direction are joined to each other by means of aplurality of heat-sealing lines 9 arranged intermittently in thelongitudinal direction. By such joining, the waist-hole 10 and the leftand right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b are formed.

Unlike the article 1A, in the article 1B, the absorbent panel 4 presentsalso in the tuckable guide middle, front and rear zones 18, 27, 28.Stiffness of the tuckable guide middle, front and rear zones 18, 27, 28of the crotch region 33 is lower than that in the remaining zone of thearticle 1B in which the absorbent panel 4 is interposed. The lowstiffness zones 18, 27, 28 are defined by making a basic weight thereofless than that in the remaining zone of the absorbent panel 4 and makingthickness of the absorbent panel 4 smaller than that in the remainingzone of the absorbent panel 4, respectively.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 have generally trianglesand are folded along the first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines16, 17 so that the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 may beinterposed between the front and rear zones 21, 22 and thereby the firstand second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked together with the darts23 inwardly in the transverse direction of the article 1B from the leftand right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1B.

To assemble the article 1B of FIG. 6 from a state as illustrated in FIG.8 by an exploded perspective view, the article 1B is folded along acenter line L with the inner sheet 2 inside and then the side flaps 5extending in the front and rear waist region 32, 34 are joined to eachother by joining them. Then the first and second tuckable side zones 19,20 are folded along the first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines16, 17 and the tuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked from the left andright leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1B as indicated by the arrowW in FIG. 7.

The article 1B is formed in the first and second tuckable side zones 19,20 with the darts 23 and the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20are folded along the first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16,17 and tucked into the article 1B. Thus, the transverse dimension of thecrotch region 33 can be reduced as in the case of the article 1A. Thecrotch region 33 is properly placed against the wearer's crotch area sothat the wearer experiences no feeling of discomfort when put on thewearer's body.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 including parts of theabsorbent panel 4 rise as the first and second tuckable side zones 19,20 are tucked into the article 1B. The first and second tuckable sidezones 19, 20 form barriers against bodily discharges and thereby toprevent bodily discharges from leaking out from the crotch region 33.Decrease in the transverse dimension of the crotch region 33 does notreduce the function of absorbing bodily discharges in the crotch region33 because portions of the absorbent panel 4 lying in the transverselymiddle zone 33 a as well as the first and second tuckable side zones 19,20 absorb and contain bodily discharges.

Upon wearing the article 1B, portions of the article 1B including partsof the absorbent panel 4 in the vicinity of its side edges 4 a aretucked in the tuckable guide front and rear zones 27, 28 havingrelatively low stiffness and the absorbent panel 4 is deformed along thewearer's torso in a generally annular shape. In this way, the absorbentpanel 4 is easily conformed to a shape of an individual wearer's torsoand the chassis 1 and placed in close contact with the wearer's skinthrough the inner sheet 2.

Though not illustrated, the article 1B may be formed with the lowstiffness middle zone 18 not only in the transversely middle zone 33 abut also in transversely opposite side zones 33 b. In this case, thefirst and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 can be more smoothly tuckedinto the article 1B.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing still another preferred embodimentof an article 1C according to this invention. FIG. 10 is a perspectiveview showing the article 1C in a state before the first and secondtuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked from the left and right leg-holes11 a, 11 b into the article 1C and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspectiveview showing the article 1C in FIG. 10 with the front and rear waistregions 32, 34 disjoined from each other and partially cutaway. In FIGS.9 and 10, the waist-surrounding direction is indicated by the arrow X1,the transverse direction is indicated by the arrow X2, the longitudinaldirection is indicated by the arrow Y and the thigh-surroundingdirection is indicated by the arrow Z.

The article 1C comprises a flexible chassis 1 composed of inner andouter sheets 36 a, 36 b and a semi-stiff, liquid-absorbent panel 4. Theabsorbent panel 4 is formed separately from the chassis 1 in the form ofpad and comprises the liquid-pervious inner sheet 2 defining a bodyfacing side, the liquid-impervious outer sheet 3 defining a garmentfacing side and a liquid-absorbent core 44 disposed between the innerand outer sheet 2, 3 and joined to the inner surface of at least one ofthe two sheets 2, 3. The chassis 1 has an area larger than those of theinner and outer sheets 2, 3 and a generally hourglass-shape as viewed inits plan view. The absorbent panel 4 is intermittently joined to theinner sheet 36 a of the chassis 1.

With respect to the configuration, the chassis 1 is composed of thefront and rear waist regions 32, 34 opposed to each other and the crotchregion 33 extending between these waist regions 32, 34. The article 1Chas a pair of side flaps 5 a formed by portions of the inner and outersheets 2, 3 lying outside the transversely opposite side edges 44 a ofthe core 44 and a pair of side flaps 5 b formed by portions of thechassis 1 lying outside the transversely opposite side edges 44 a of thecore 44, so as to extend in the thigh-surrounding direction,respectively, and a pair of end flaps 6 formed by portions of thechassis 1 lying outside the longitudinally opposite front and rear ends44 b, 44 c of the core 4 so as to extend in the waist-surroundingdirection in the front and rear waist regions 32, 34, respectively.

The side flaps 5 a in the absorbent panel 4 are respectively providedwith elastic members 12 each comprising a plurality of elastic strandsextending in the thigh-surrounding direction and strands to the outersurface of the inner sheet 2 in a stretched state so that these elasticmembers 12 are associated with the respective leg-holes.

Transversely opposite side edge portions 36 c, 36 c of the chassis 1extending in the longitudinal direction in the front and rear waistregions 32, 34 are overlaid and joined together by means of a pluralityof heat-sealing lines 9 arranged intermittently in the longitudinaldirection. By such joining, the waist-hole 10 and the left and rightleg-holes 11 a, 11 b are formed.

The chassis 1 are formed of a breathable composite nonwoven fabricconsisting of two layers 36 a, 36 b of substantially non-stretchablehydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric. The chassis 1 is provided along itslongitudinally opposite end portions 36 d, 36 d with elastic members 40each comprising a plurality of elastic strands extending in thewaist-surrounding direction and secured thereto in a stretched state soas to be associated with the waist-hole. The side flaps 5 b in thechassis 1 are provided along the respective transversely opposite sideedge portions 36 c extending in the crotch region 33 with elasticmembers 41 each comprising a plurality of elastic strands extending inthe thigh-surrounding direction and bonded thereto in a stretched stateso as to be associated with the leg-holes. The elastic members 40, 41associated with the waist-hole and the leg-holes, respectively, areinterposed between the two layers 36 a, 36 b of nonwoven fabric formingthe chassis 1 and secured to the layers 36 a, 36 b.

As indicated by single-dot-chain lines in FIGS. 10 and 11, the crotchregion 33 is formed with a first imaginary tuckable guide line 16 and asecond imaginary tuckable guide line 17 both extending in the transversedirection. The crotch region 33 is formed in its transversely oppositeside portions 33 b with the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20having stiffness lower than that in the remaining zone of the article 1Cin which the core 44 is interposed. The first tuckable side zone 19 isdefined by the peripheral edge of the left leg-hole 11 a and the firstand second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 and the second tuckableside zone 20 is defined by the peripheral edge of the right leg-hole 11b and the first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17. Thefirst and second tuckable zones 19, 20 have generally triangles and aredefined by making a basic weight thereof and making thickness of thecore 44 smaller than that in the remaining zone of the core 44.

The first imaginary tuckable guide line 16 extends from the peripheraledge 11 a 1 of the left leg-hole 11 a lying in the front waist region 32and the peripheral edge 11 b 2 of the right leg-hole 11 b lying in therear waist region 34 toward the transversely middle zone 33 a of thecrotch region 33. The second imaginary tuckable guide line 17 extendsfrom the peripheral edge 11 b 1 of the right leg-hole 11 b lying in thefront waist region 32 and the peripheral edge 11 a 2 of the leftleg-hole 11 a lying in the rear waist region 34 toward the transverselymiddle zone 33 a of the crotch region 33. The imaginary tuckable guidelines 16, 17 are formed in the first and second tuckable side zones 19,20 defined in the transversely opposite side portions 33 b of the crotchregion 33.

Inside the side edges 44 a of the core 44, the pair of tuckable frontguide zones 27 and the pair of tuckable guide rear zones 28 are formed.The tuckable guide front zones 27 are defined between the transverselymiddle zone 33 a of the crotch region 33 and the front end 4 b of thecore 44 lying in the front waist region 32 and extend in thethigh-surrounding direction. The tuckable guide rear zones 28 aredefined between the transversely middle zone 33 a of the crotch region33 and the rear end 44 c of the core 4 lying in the rear waist region 34and extend in the thigh-surrounding direction. Stiffness of the core 44in the zones 19, 20, 27, 28 is lower than its remaining zone andconsequently the zones 19, 20, 27, 28 are low stiffness zones. The lowstiffness zones 27, 28 are defined by making a basic weight thereof andmaking thickness of the core 44 smaller than that in the remaining zoneof the core 44.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked inwardly intransverse direction of the article 1C along the first and secondimaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 into the article 1C. The article1C is distinguished from the articles 1A, 1B in that the darts are notformed in the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 29 are formedwith none of the darts.

To assemble the article 1C of FIG. 9 from a state as illustrated in FIG.11 in by exploded perspective view, the article 1C is folded along acenter line L with the inner sheet 2 inside and then the chassis 1extending in the front and rear waist regions 32, 34 are joined to eachother by joining them along the respective side edge portions 36 c, 36c. Then the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are folded alongthe first and second imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 and the firstand second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked from the left and rightleg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1C as indicated by the arrow W inFIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along a line C—C in FIG. 9 and FIG. 13is a cross-sectional view taken along a line D—D in FIG. 9. The firstand second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are folded along the first andsecond imaginary tuckable guide lines 16, 17 and tucked from the leftand right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b in the article 1C. Thus, the transversedimension of the crotch region 33 can be reduced similarly to thearticles 1A and 1B shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, respectively. Uponwearing this article 1C, the crotch region 33 is properly placed againstthe wearer's crotch area so that the wearer experiences no feeling ofdiscomfort.

The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 including the core 44rise as the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 are tucked fromthe left and right leg-holes 11 a, 11 b into the article 1C, asillustrated in FIG. 9. The first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20form barriers against bodily discharges and thereby to prevent bodilydischarges from leaking out from the crotch region 33. Decrease in thetransverse dimension of the crotch region 33 does not reduce thefunction of the core 44 in the crotch region 33 to absorb bodilydischarges because portions of the core 44 lying in the transverselymiddle zone 33 a and the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20 ofthe crotch region 33 absorb and contain bodily discharges.

Upon wearing the article 1C, portions of the article 1C including partsof the core 44 in the vicinity of its side edges 44 a are tucked in thetuckable guide front and rear zones 27, 28 deformed along the wearer'storso in a generally annular shape. Consequently, the core 44 also isdeformed substantially in an annular shape. In this way, the article 1Cfacilitates the core 44 to be conformed to a shape of the individualwearer's torso and enables a zone in which the core 44 is interposed, tobe placed in close contact with the wearer's skin through the innersheet 2.

Also for the articles 1A, 1B shown by FIGS. 1 and 6, respectively, it isnot essential to form the first and second tuckable side zones 19, 20with the darts 23. In the articles 1A, 1B, 1C having been illustratedand described, any one of the tuckable guide front and rear zones 27, 28may be eliminated and even both of them may be eliminated.

The inner sheet 2 may be formed of material selected from a group ofmaterial including a hydrophilic fibrous nonwoven fabric, a hydrophobicfibrous nonwoven fabric having a plurality of fine apertures and plasticfilm having a plurality of fine pores.

The outer sheet 3 may be formed of material selected from a group ofmaterials including a substantially non-stretchable hydrophobic fibrousnonwoven fabric, substantially non-stretchable breathable butliquid-impervious plastic film, a composite nonwoven fabric comprising alaminate of these hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric layers, and acomposite sheet comprising a laminate of these hydrophobic fibrousnonwoven fabric and breathable but liquid-impervious plastic film. Thewaist member 1 a may be formed of the same sheet material as the outersheet 3. The chassis 1 may be formed of material selected from a groupof materials including substantially non-stretchable hydrophobic fibrousnonwoven fabric, substantially non-stretchable breathable butliquid-impervious plastic film and a composite sheet consisting of suchhydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric and breathable but liquid-imperviousplastic film laminated with each other. It is also possible to form theouter sheet 3, the waist member 1 a and the chassis 1 comprising acomposite nonwoven fabric with both sides of the surface of a fibrousnonwoven fabric made by melt blown method having highly water-resistantproperty sandwitched by a fibrous nonwoven fabric by spun bond methodhaving high strength and flexibility.

Nonwoven fabric may be selected from a group of materials includingproducts obtained by spun lacing, needle punching, melt blowing, thermalbonding, spun bonding, chemical bonding and air-through processes.Component fiber of the nonwoven fabric may be selected from a group ofmaterials including polyolefine-, polyester- and polyamide-based fibersand core-sheath-type and side-by-side-type conjugated fibers ofpolyethylene/polypropylene and polyethylene/polyester.

It is also possible to use a stock material for the chassis 1 selectedfrom a group of materials consisting of a stretchable and hydrophobicfibrous nonwoven fabric, stretchable and liquid-impervious plastic film,and a composite sheet comprising stretchable and liquid-imperviousfibrous nonwoven fabric and stretchable and liquid-impervious plasticfilm laminated with each other. The stretchable fibrous nonwoven fabricmay be a product obtained by melt blowing or spun bonding process.Component fiber of the stretchable nonwoven fabric may be a stretchablefiber obtained by melting and spinning thermoplastic elastomer resin.

It is also possible to form the chassis 1 using a composite nonwovenfabric comprising a hydrophobic fibrous nonwoven fabric made of acrimped fiber obtained by a melt spinning thermoplastic synthetic resinand placed upon at least one surface of a stretchable and hydrophobicfibrous nonwoven fabric made of a thermoplastic elastomer resin fiber.

Bonding of sheet members in the embodiments of this invention andsecuring of the elastic members to the sheet members may be carried outusing a hot melt adhesive of welding technique such as heat-sealing andsonic-sealing.

The disposable pull-on wearing article according to this invention canreduce the transverse dimension of the crotch region in comparison tothe wearing article of prior art or the wearing article currentlyavailable in the market by folding the first and second tuckable sidezones of the crotch region along the first and second imaginary tuckableguide lines and tucking them into the left and right leg-holes. Uponwearing this article, the crotch region is properly placed in closecontact with the wearer's crotch region without creating any feeling ofdiscomfort against the wearer. With this article, the first and secondtuckable side zones rise toward the waist-hole as the first and secondtuckable side zones are tucked into the left and right leg-holes so thatthe first and second zones may form barriers against bodily dischargesand prevent bodily discharges from leaking out from the crotch region.

The embodiment so arranged that the transversely middle and/ortransversely opposite sides of the crotch region is or are formed withthe low stiffness zones. Facilitates the first and second tuckable sidezones to be folded along the first and second imaginary tuckable guidelines and to be tucked from the left and right leg-holes into thearticle.

The embodiment in which the first and second tuckable side zones areformed with a pair of darts extending in the crotch region in thethigh-surrounding direction can further reduce the transverse dimensionof the crotch region.

The embodiment formed with the tuckable guide front and rear zonesextending inside the transversely opposite side edges of the absorbentpanel or core in the waist-surrounding direction facilitates theabsorbent panel or core to be conformed to the torso shape of theindividual wearer in close contact with the wearer's skin. This isbecause that the side edges of the absorbent panel or core are folded inthese tuckable guide front and rear zones and the absorbent panel orcore having stiffness higher than that of the inner and outer sheet andthe chassis can be deformed along the wearer's torso substantially in anannular shape.

1. A disposable pull-on wearing article, comprising: oppositebody-facing and garment-facing surfaces; a front waist region, a rearwaist region, a crotch region extending in a longitudinal direction ofsaid article between the front and rear waist regions; a waist hole anda first and second leg-holes; a pad containing therein absorbentmaterial and extending from the front waist region to the rear waistregion via the crotch region, wherein said pad has front and rear endedges opposed in the longitudinal direction of the article, and firstand second side edges opposed in a transverse direction of the articleand connecting the front and rear end edges; a pair of oblique firstfolding lines converging from a peripheral edge of the first leg-holetoward a middle zone of said pad in the crotch region; and a pair ofoblique second folding lines converging from a peripheral edge of thesecond leg-holes toward the middle zone of said pad in the crotchregion; wherein said crotch region includes a first side portionassociated with the first leg-hole, folded along the first foldinglines, and tucked inwardly of the article to define a first inward tuck;said crotch region further includes a second side portion associatedwith the second leg-hole, folded along the second folding lines, andtucked inwardly of the article to define a second inward tuck; astiffness of said pad in the middle zone is less than in a remainingzone of said pad, said remaining zone being located outside said middlezone; and said middle zone is free of said absorbent material.